I read the July 17 update notes with one hand on my coffee and the other on my loot spreadsheet. Once Human is adding two new ways to join permanent servers, and as a player who has restarted more times than a bad router, I have feelings. Spoiler alert: my inner loot goblin is both thrilled and slightly sweaty. 
Door Number One: Sign Me Up, But Read the Fine Print
Here’s the first route. Whether you’re chilling in a normal scenario server or a permanent scenario server, if your current scenario lets you sign up for a new scenario, you can sign up to join an existing permanent server. Sounds simple, right? Cue the fine print, because this is where my gear and I have a serious conversation.
The sign-up rules for permanent scenario servers are the same as normal servers. Your character’s level and scenario resources—including gear and consumables—will be reset. Yes, that means the sword I spent an embarrassing number of hours upgrading goes poof. RIP my inventory. If you want to keep your progress, hold your horses until your current scenario ends. It will then be merged into a permanent server and preserve your progress. That’s the grown-up move. The patient move. The move I will absolutely consider before getting distracted by a shiny new server.
Good news: cosmetics, titles, social relationships, and achievements carry over between seasons as usual. So my character might lose the gear, but the fashion stays. Honestly, that’s the real endgame. Fashion is forever; my consumables are apparently not. 😅
Door Number Two: New Character, Who Dis?
The second route is for the altaholics and the impatient. You can create a new character directly from the server list screen to join a permanent scenario server, no sign-up required. Big brain energy. No waiting, no fine-print panic, just pick a server and go. Permanent scenario servers will also support invite codes, so you can team up and play with your friends. Squad up, share the code, and pretend you’re not going to argue over loot. We all know how that ends.
If the permanent scenario servers are almost full, additional servers will be opened as needed. No cap, that’s a relief. I’ve seen launch-day queues that made me question my life choices. One more note: permanent scenario servers that you manually sign up for will only have one phase, and Scenario Challenges will not be available. The dev team says Scenario Challenges for permanent servers are coming in the future. So don’t @ me when you notice the challenge tab is quiet—it’s a “later” thing, not a “never” thing.
| Route | Who it’s for | What resets | What carries over | Challenges |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sign up from current scenario | Players who want to join an existing permanent server | Level and scenario resources, including gear and consumables | Cosmetics, titles, social relationships, achievements | Same sign-up rules as normal servers; wait for merge to keep progress |
| New character from server list | Players who want to jump in without sign-up | Fresh character start | Cosmetics, titles, social relationships, achievements | Manually signed-up permanent servers have one phase; Scenario Challenges not available yet |
My 2026 Game Plan
As of 2026, my plan is simple: if I’m mid-scenario and emotionally attached to my gear, I’ll wait for the merge like a responsible adult. If my friends send an invite code, I’m creating a new character from the server list and jumping in. If I’m feeling chaotic, I’ll do both and call it “content.” The dev team also says they’ll keep improving the permanent scenario server system to give players a more stable, flexible, and enjoyable world to explore. That’s the good stuff. A stable world means fewer “where did my progress go?” moments, and more time for the fun part: exploring, building, and blaming my squad for pulling the wrong mob.
So, yeah, the July 17 update gives us two new doors into permanent servers. One door says “sign up, but mind the reset.” The other says “new character, no sign-up, bring friends.” I’m walking through both, probably with snacks. 🎮
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